Back In The Black: A New Crew
by Dongyrn
Summary: It's been two decades since the Miranda Disaster became public, and another three years since the end of the Second War For Independence. Serenity is flying under a new crew. Can Maia Reynolds and Emma Washburne fill the shoes of their parents, or will they find their own destinies?


**Firefly: Back In The Black  
** **Book 1: A New Crew  
** **Chapter 1: Beginnings**

 _The Earth-That-Was got used up. Humanity found a new solar system and used terraforming technology to create hundreds of new Earths. The central planets formed the Alliance and decided that all worlds should unite under their rule. There was some disagreement on that point._

 _Seven years after the First War for Independence ended, a lone Firefly transport helped release the information on the Miranda Disaster. Millions of colonists had died due to the Alliance's ill-conceived project to placate the population chemically, and thousands of Reavers had been brought into being. It took maybe a decade for everyone to get worked up enough about it, but when things finally boiled over the resulting Second War for Independence was very different from the First. Families were split, worlds rebelled, and discontent spread throughout all the systems, even the Core. Alliance naval ships joined the cause for Independence, along with battalions of troops, once the movement gained traction._

 _The Blue Sun Corporation finally revealed their true nature as the real power behind the Alliance government when they threw their efforts into the suppression of the public. It was a War with no clear winner, no clear loser. When the dust settled another ten years later, the Alliance remained, but so did the new Independent System of Kalidasa. Many flocked to this Rim territory, forming new opportunities for commerce and crime._

 _Three years after the end of the Second War, the Firefly transport_ Serenity _is still flying, but with a different crew. Can they fill the shoes of their predecessors, or will they find their own destiny in this changed 'Verse?_

Inbound to Regina. Georgia system.

 _Serenity_ moved smoothly into orbit, setting up for a landing pattern. The Firefly Mark III transport was almost a relic nowadays. Most of the old boats had been replaced by the newer Mark IV's, and Osiris Shipworks was rolling out the sleek, nimble Mark V's within a year or so, depending on who within the company you talked to.

But _Serenity_ was still flying.

Her hull was patched over, a mismatch of plating and colors that did nothing to hide her solid reliability. One engine was obviously replaced in the recent past, but both still performed well enough to keep her aloft and protect her crew. Perhaps the newest part was the Primary Buffer Panel, as it had a habit of flying off at the most inconvenient of times.

Standing on the bridge, Captain Maia Reynolds couldn't imagine flying any other vessel. _Serenity_ was home. She was as much family as she was a haven.

Maia idly wondered how many times her father had stood in this exact spot, center of the bridge with feet braced apart, looking out the forward viewport. She was tall and lanky like Malcolm, though her lustrous black hair, cropped short in back but allowing tufts of it to fall across her forehead, resembled her mother Inara more. She preferred to dress like her father did, military pants and boots reflecting her service in the Browncoat army during the past war, red button-up shirt and suspenders. She patted the Moses Brother's revolver at her side. Her most treasured possession, aside from _Serenity_ herself, was her father's old gun. _Another relic_ , she thought to herself wryly.

"Seem to anyone else we're comin' up on the planet a mite quick-like?" a melodic voice drawled from where she was seated to the left.

Maia looked down at her very best friend in the 'Verse, _Serenity_ 's first mate Emma Washburne. Another former Browncoat, Em was two years older than her, though they had grown up together close enough they were practically sisters. Grown up on _Serenity_ , in fact. Another reason that made the ship so beloved to them both.

She could see a lot of Em's mother Zoe in her, with her light cocoa-colored skin and the hard edge to her jaw. The woman had thick, wavy hair of a shade somewhere between black and chestnut-brown, with some blond streaks thrown in for good measure, and tied back in a ponytail with an old leather bootstring. Along with her blue eyes, which Aunt Zoe always said came from her father, it gave her an exotic look that was a magnet for the menfolk. _Unless she was pointin' her mama's Mares Leg gun at you, an' then you were more likely to piss yer pants_.

"That's only 'cause we're landin' a mite too fast," came a nervous voice from the pilot's seat.

Chuckling, Maia glanced over at her young and inexperienced pilot. Adrian Collins was only seventeen but flying came naturally to him, just like breathing. He could get a bit excitable at times, and was so wet behind the ears it was painful to witness, but she'd rather have him at the helm than anyone else she knew. Especially her. _Don' know why I 'xpected any more, my daddy was a_ gou se _(shit) pilot, an' he taught me_.

"I gots faith in ya, _didi_ ," Maia grinned at the skinny kid with the tousled mop of blond hair. Everyone on the ship either called him their _didi_ , meaning little brother, or just 'kid'. "Still, I'll go back and make sure Skunk's got a handle on things, 'kay?"

He gave a shaky nod as Maia patted him on the shoulder, turning to leave. Emma stood, stretching in her brown spacer overalls, to follow.

"You gonna gear up?" the lanky captain asked curiously over her shoulder.

"There a point to it if'n we're jus' gonna crash anyways?" her best friend snarked back.

"Wait, we're doin' what now?" a lilting voice called out with a slight trace of panic.

Maia faced forward to see their gunhand Erin O'Donnell climb out of her bunk, buckling on her deadly-looking semi-auto pistol in it's holster. She was in her usual attire of baggy cargo pants, combat boots, and tight low-scooped black tee shirt. Maia tried not to let the expanse of freckles across her upper chest and face distract her.

"No worries Erin, we're gettin' down jus' fine," Maia reassured her. "C'n ya get the Mule unlimbered for us?"

"Oh, we'll get down alright," Emma snickered quietly behind her. "How many pieces, now, that's the question."

"Will do, Capt'n," the Aberdeen native replied to Maia's question, turning and bouncing towards the stairwell, her red pony-tailed hair bouncing along behind her.

Maia stared after her for a second before Emma gave her a nudge from behind. "Fer the love of Buddha, will ya jus' ask the girl out an' get it over with?"

Giving herself a shake, Maia glared back at her first mate. "I... You... _Bi zui_ (shut up)," she sputtered, striding forward through the galley. Emma followed, making a poor attempt to conceal her laughter.

A large, dark-skinned man was behind the kitchen counter working the range. "Mike, any supplies you need picked up, if'n we get the chance?" Maia called out to their cook.

"Already gave a list to Em there, Captain" Michael responded in a mellowed and cultured baritone. The giant man looked like an intimidating wall of muscle, but was in reality as gentle as they came, and a fine Core-trained chef to boot. Fortunately he was a package deal with their ship's doctor, who happened to be his wife, so he didn't cost much to keep around.

"Good 'nuff, then," Maia replied cheerfully, steering her mind away from the good Doctor Lee. She walked steadily back to the engine room, calling out to her mechanic when within earshot.

"Skunk! You keepin' things together, old man?"

"Everythin's shiny, Maia-girl," a raspy voice coughed out from under the Radion Accelerator Core.

Maia and Emma shared a glance before both women crouched simultaneously to peer under the grating. A wizened, wiry man was crawling out, frazzled white hair sticking up like a halo, cigar clamped between his teeth.

"Don't sound too convincin' there," Emma commented, waving away the noxious fumes from her face.

"Naw, it's all good, girls, don' worry yer pretty lil' heads none," the man grunted, pulling himself the rest of the way out. He was wearing his habitual greasy overalls and was unrepentant as to the ever-present smoke cloud hovering around the ceiling of the engine room.

"I ever gonna get you to quit smokin' in here, old man?" Maia asked affectionately.

"Keep tellin' ya, Maia-girl, that's what we got air scrubbers fer," he smirked. They only knew him by the name Skunk, he neither volunteered any other nor gave it up if asked directly.

"Alrighty then," Maia laughed, dusting herself off as she got to her feet. "An' you ever gonna call me Capt'n?" she tossed back.

"I'll get right on that, Maia-girl," Skunk grinned.

Shaking her head humorously, Maia went to head back through the galley but was stopped by Emma's outstretched arm blocking her path.

"Forgettin' somethin', Capt'n?" her friend asked with a smirk.

"Oh fer... fine, fine, I'm goin'," Maia grumbled, reversing course and heading downstairs towards the infirmary. "You comin' too?"

"Nope," Emma replied cheerfully. "Already got mine, I'll go gear up. Meet ya in the bay."

Still grumbling under breath, Maia stomped down the steps.

"Be a good girl, now, and no cryin'!" Emma snarked down towards her.

" _Qu nide_ (fuck off)!" Maia yelled back irritably.

"Back at ya, _biao zi_ (bitch)!" Emma replied cheerfully.

Maia had to grin despite herself. There was nobody in the 'Verse she'd trust more at her back than Emma. They bickered, sometimes vehemently, just like sisters at times, but they were always there for each other. Whether it was Emma bolstering Maia's confidence, or Maia consoling Emma after yet another disastrous fling with a boy she fell head-over-heels for planet-side, or the two of them back-to-back in a bar brawl, they were inseparable and often insufferable. But always friends.

She paused on the threshold of the infirmary, and sighed to herself. _Might as well get this over with_. She plastered a false smile on her face and rapped on the doorframe. "Doc, ya got a sec?"

The elegant woman turned, smiling, and held up the syringe she already had in her hand. Groaning inwardly, Maia crossed over to lean up against the bed. Dr. Kira Lee was a beautiful woman of Asian descent, with long black hair and an intricate tattoo of a dragon up the side of her neck, circling her right eye.

Kira pushed up the sleeves of her lab coat as Maia unbuttoned and rolled up her own sleeve. "You know you need this," the doctor murmured as she swabbed the skin on her captain's forearm.

"I know, I know," Maia grumbled. "I jus' don' like needles none."

"I'll make it quick," Kira said, laughing softly. Maia didn't think she ever heard the woman raise her voice. She was ageless, really, though she had to assume the Persephone native was around her own age, or thereabouts. Kira never talked much about her past, but seemed driven to help those in need. She was _Serenity_ 's ambassador, giving them clearance to land on Rim worlds that would normally be suspicious of them. They would set up their free clinic in a spare house, or sometimes even just using _Serenity_ 's infirmary, with her husband Michael assisting.

Maia winced at the small prick, looking up at the ceiling. She knew it was childish, but needles just irked her for some reason. _Mebbe it was all the vaccinations in the army_ , she mused.

"All set," the doctor smiled. "Should be immunized for Bowden's Malady now, good for a year."

"Well, I don' plan on bein' back here anytime soon, but that's good to know," Maia replied, rolling her sleeve back down and walking towards the exit. "Thanks, doc."

"You want a lollipop?" Kira asked with a grin.

Maia rolled her eyes and stalked out the door. She poked her head back in a second later. "D'ya really have lollipops?" she asked curiously.

Kira just giggled, and made shooing motions with her hands.

In the cargo bay, Erin had gotten the Mule down from the restraints. It was a newer model, one they had saved up for, all-terrain and fast, though with limited cargo capacity. Perfect for a getaway vehicle.

The redheaded gunslinger was already at the controls when Adrian's voice came over the ship's intercom. "We're down in five, no worries." All traces of panic were gone from his voice.

"Knew he'd pull it together," Maia grinned as she hopped into the front seat of the Mule.

"Oh, ye knew, did ye?" Erin grinned back, a trace of brogue in her voice and green eyes flashing with humor.

"She don' know fer _houzi gou shi_ (monkey shit)," Emma laughed as she walked up, slinging her _da pigu_ (bigass) assault rifle into the back of the Mule. She was now dressed in her combat gear, military pants and boots similar to Maia's but with a trim green shirt and short brown jacket. _Shoulda brought my own duster, hope it won' be too cold out_.

"Hey now, lil' captainy-like respect here," Maia said loftily. "I'm the capt'n, 'course I gots faith in my people. An' why are ya lugging 'Gina' there along? We robbin' the place or occupyin' it?"

"Never hurts to be prepared," Emma smirked as she hopped up on the side. "Scoot."

Maia squawked in protest but shifted over towards the middle. Emma plopped herself down and nudged her over further so that Maia's leg was pressed up against Erin's.

Her face flushed a light pink. " _Chang fu_ (whore)," Maia muttered out of the side of her mouth.

" _Piyan_ (asshole)," Emma murmured back cheerfully. She glanced over at her blushing friend and was amused to note a similar blush spread across Erin's freckled face as well.

And then with a thump the ship was down. Maia reached forward to trigger the remote door control they had installed a few years back. While the airlock doors slid back, the ramp lowered, and then they were sailing out into the night.

* * *

 **NOTES:** This is just a concept I've been working on, wanted to get it out here. I haven't given the storyline any thought past the first chapter, but this is something I'd like to work on in the future... Don't expect updates any sooner though.


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